


When Gabe Saporta and Eduardo Saverin first met

by krellinad (anonymousorly)



Category: Cobra Starship, The Social Network (2010)
Genre: Jealousy, M/M, Mario Kart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27435847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousorly/pseuds/krellinad
Summary: ".... you know, we need some more bandom up in here." "WORD. The Social Network as FBR's next big thing. Gabe Saporta throwing himself at Eduardo..." [tsn-kinkmeme prompt](Getting Mark to go to Bill Gate’s lecture was like pulling teeth for Eduardo, so trying to get him to a free Cobra Starship concert being held on campus was even more of a painful effort.)
Relationships: Eduardo Saverin/Mark Zuckerberg, Gabe Saporta/Eduardo Saverin
Kudos: 4





	When Gabe Saporta and Eduardo Saverin first met

Getting Mark to go to Bill Gate’s lecture was like pulling teeth for Eduardo, so trying to get Mark to a free Cobra Starship concert being held on campus was even more of a painful effort.

Standing in the doorway of Mark’s bedroom, Eduardo whined a little as Mark kept his eyes and fingers on the laptop in front of him. “Please, please, please,” he begged, bouncing his knees in frustration and anxiousness. “It’s only for an hour.”

“Take Dustin,” Mark replied like an automated machine.

“He’s already there with Chris but I want you to–”

“I’m not wasting my time to go listen to disgusting, vulgar sounds that are labeled as music. That is not music.”

Eduardo bit his lip and asked more quietly, “Would you waste your time accompanying your best friend to something he really wants to go to and share with his best friend?”

Mark’s fingers froze midair as he took the words into consideration for once. Eduardo had done everything Mark asked of him and the only thing Mark ever did in return was go to the dining hall with him on Tuesdays and Thursdays after their last classes.

Mark sighed, slamming the top of the laptop shut, “Goddamn it.”

***

They could hear the bass and screams before they even entered the building. Mark grumbled for the twenty-fifth time (Eduardo was counting) that he didn’t want to be here as Eduardo squeezed his shoulders under his arm.

“It’s just a little concert. You’ll be back to your precious corner within the hour.”

“Shut up, I like my corner. But what I can’t understand is why you like this shit.”

“You don’t have to.” Eduardo opened the door to the concert hall and held his hand out to let Mark walk in first. “All you have to understand is how happy you’ve made me by coming with.”

All this praise after the guilt trip was really bothering Mark and he hoped that, after this, it would never be brought up ever again.

Eduardo kept a hand on Mark’s back and directed him through the compacted, loud crowd toward the stage where he knew Dustin and Chris were. Mark wrinkled his nose pretentiously at the bodies that bumped into his and glared back at Eduardo, who only smirked and pushed Mark to keep moving forward.

Mark looked at the stage and saw the band playing and dancing around. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew who they were and that they had that one song about snakes for that one movie, and when he was close enough to make out the lead singer, who he knew as Gabe from Eduardo talking about them on the way over, he was disgusted by how thin, tall, and enthusiastic he was.

He wanted to leave.

They got to Dustin and Chris, who were jumping up and down in the front row and singing at the top of their lungs. Eduardo tapped their shoulders and they turned to embrace Mark, both shocked that Eduardo managed to drag him out.

“Dude!” Dustin screamed into Mark’s ear, causing him to flinch. “This is the best shit this school has ever done for me!”

Mark blinked at him. “Are you drunk?”

“Yes!”

Eduardo bobbed his head along to the music, mouthing the words because he didn’t have it in him to sing, even though he knew his voice would be lost in the air with everyone else’s. He watched Gabe closely as he sang and danced provocatively with his hips, eying the crowd with seduction before breaking the contact to focus solely on his own dancing.

When the song was over and the crowd was cheering, Eduardo clapped with a wide smile on his face. Gabe took a deep breath and looked over everyone as the rest of the band recomposed themselves, drinking water and retuning. His eyes settled on Eduardo for one second, then two, then three, four, not looking away. Eduardo’s smile softened, confused, before brightening up again.

Gabe smiled back and licked his lips.

Chris’ eyebrows shot up and Dustin leaned over to scream, “Dude! DUDE! He smiled at you! Smiled. at. YOU!”

Mark rolled his eyes. “Dustin, there are hundreds of people here, the guy couldn’t have possibly pinpointed Eduardo…”

Mark turned to Eduardo for back-up and stopped to find that the two men were, indeed, staring at each other.

*

Mark nudged Eduardo’s side as the girl, Victoria, smacked Gabe on the back of the head.

“Wardo,” Mark snapped.

“Yeah, yeah, what?”

Mark swallowed hard, glancing back at Gabe worriedly. “What are you doing?”

Eduardo tore his eyes away from Gabe for just a moment to glance at Mark before returning them back. “What do you mean?”

The crowd was growing restless, high on excitement and wanting more from the band.

Gabe went to the edge of the stage and kneeled down, waving his hand to beckon Eduardo closer. In a trance, Eduardo moved closer until he was up against the barricade.

“Esta usted de America del Sur?”

Chris’ jaw dropped and Dustin squealed.

Eduardo gave a nod. “Brasil, entao eu nao sei muito espanhol.”

Gabe creased his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side.

Eduardo translated, “Brazil. Portuguese.”

“Ah, my apologies.” Eduardo lifted his shoulders. “Meet me after.” Gabe nodded to the left side of the stage. “By the door over there.”

Eduardo robotically nodded and he wondered if the reactions, so instant and thoughtless, were similar to how Mark felt whenever he rejected anything someone said.

“Que son muy bonitas, mis companeros del sur.”

***

“You aren’t seriously going to wait here, are you?”

“Of course he is!” Dustin exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Eduardo’s shoulder to give him an encouraging squeeze.

The concert had ended about ten minutes ago and the theater emptied out fast, students high on music and drunk on booze wanting to continue on with their exciting Saturday night. Only a handful of groups remained; hopeful girls that wanted to sleep with any of the band or crew, guys that were either discussing what they should do for the rest of the night or trying to drag their too wasted friends out, and the four best friends waiting by the side door.

Mark checked his watch, tapping his foot for added effect. “He’s not coming. Let’s just go.”

“You can go,” Dustin snapped, eyes and cheeks pink as he held Eduardo tighter. “Wardo is getting himself some Ecuadorian ass–“

Eduardo coughed, “That wasn’t–”

Chris added, “Guys, calm down, we can wait a few more–”

Mark rolled his eyes just as the door opened, only a crack. Eduardo spun around, Mark glaring at how fast he was to react, and saw Gabe poke his head out a little, wide smile across his face.

The singer whispered loudly, “Come on.”

Eduardo went first, Dustin hyperventilating behind him while Chris rubbed his back, and Mark trailed last, shocked that this was actually happening and his coding would have to wait even longer. He would have to remind Eduardo for the rest of his life that he lied, he was away from his corner for more than an hour.

Eduardo introduced everyone as Gabe led the way through the stage’s back hallway, which was dark, dirty, and cluttered with audio equipment. He would look over his shoulder every so often at Eduardo, smile a little wider, then look away. Eduardo blushed every time and Mark grew more and more annoyed.

They reached the dressing rooms and Gabe pushed open the door to the first one, letting everyone in first before closing it behind him. They were unsure what to do so they stood around until Gabe sat on the couch, waving his hand in the air.

“Take a seat, guys. The others scattered off, I think to a sorority party.”

Eduardo sat on the opposite side of the couch while Dustin and Chris sat in two of the cushioned chairs. Mark opted to stay standing by the door, arms crossed over his chest and face showing he was clearly disinterested.

Eduardo said, “You guys played really great. Very energetic and clean sounding.”

Mark scoffed. How could Eduardo think that anything about that band was clean?

Dustin jumped in, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was fun. I was dancing the whole time.”

Gabe laughed and nodded. “Thank you both, really. It was fun playing here. This campus is extraordinarily beautiful and rustic.” He turned his body towards Eduardo. “I wasn’t expecting anything less. Living here must be great.”

Eduardo opened his mouth to answer when Mark interrupted, “You can sing, I’ll give you that. Why don’t you join a real band?”

Eduardo’s jaw dropped, Dustin gasped loudly, and Chris ran a hand down his face.

*

Gabe was confused, though, and asked in return, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, your... little group is badly produced electronic music. Why don’t you write songs with real instruments and meaningful lyrics?”

“Mark, stop,” Eduardo hissed, looking apologetically at Gabe. “I’m really sorry about him, he can be a bit pretentious when it–”

“I’m not pretentious, I’m honestly–”

Gabe saw the power struggle between the two and the personal challenge Mark brought forth in front of him. He wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, even from a younger college student that was probably ten times smarter than he was.

Gabe sat up a little straighter. “Dustin said he danced. That’s what I want to do for a living; make people dance. Dancing is movement that can free emotions, relieve stress, create art, among other things. To me, the music is secondary. What’s primary is that I make you want to get on your feet and sway your hips a little.

“I’m not a professional musician, Mark. I’m a dance enforcer.”

Mark raised an eyebrow. “No offense but that’s the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever–”

Chris stood up. “Enough.” He looked at Gabe, who seemed relaxed and not at all affected by Mark, which was a good thing. “I’m sorry about him. We should be getting back anyway. Thanks for hanging for a bit.”

Gabe held a hand out, which Chris shook. “My pleasure.”

Chris grabbed Dustin’s shoulder. “Come on.”

Dustin whined, “But I wanna–”

“Now.”

Hearing the strict tone of Chris’ voice, Dustin stood without another word and walked toward the door, Chris following behind . Mark stayed in place, though, waiting for Eduardo to follow, but when Gabe patted the empty cushion between them and Eduardo scooted over, he was uncertain what was going on.

“Wardo,” Mark called.

Chris shook his head, grabbed Mark’s elbow. “He’s staying. We aren’t.”

“What, we’re just going to ditch him?”

“It’s not ditching, Mark.”

Eduardo and Gabe didn’t seem to mind that they weren’t yet entirely alone, speaking quietly to one another about their experiences in South America and how their countries cultures differed. Besides Cobra Starship, it was the only common ground they knew they had and they decided to build from there.

Whispering in Mark’s ear, Chris said, “He wants to be here. With Gabe. Alone. If he didn’t, he’d be in the hall with Dustin.”

When Mark saw Gabe casually, briefly touch Eduardo’s cheek, he finally understood. For once, Eduardo chose someone over Mark. Someone Mark really, really was starting to resent. That resentment, though, may just have been from the fact Gabe took Eduardo from him, regardless of the fact he tried to put the blame on the bad music.

Really, though, Mark thought they sounded like shit and he actually could not get over it.

Eduardo giggled when Gabe spoke to him in Spanish and Chris pushed Mark out the door forcibly. “Let’s go.”

Mark looked back, searching for any sign Eduardo didn’t want to be there, but when Eduardo didn’t bother to tear his eyes away or tell him bye, he had to accept that Chris was right and that pissed him off even more.

***

Mark pulled an all-nighter that night, coding at one of the fastest speeds his fingers have ever endured. His mind was unable to turn off, switching between thoughts of HTML and Eduardo. He tried to keep control of his wondering brain by staring at the screen harder but when he least expected it, his stare would weaken and he’d imagine Eduardo underneath Gabe.

Or, would Gabe be underneath Eduardo?

Mark pulled his hands away from the keyboard to hit himself on the forehead. “Fuck, stop it,” he grumbled, Dustin loud snores coming from his bedroom.

He got through two whole lines before he concluded Eduardo would want to top, for dominance reasons, but still want to be fucked, so he would be riding Gabe on that disgusting dressing room couch.

Eduardo didn’t deserve a nasty couch.

He deserved a solid gold four-post bed with an artistic, fancy headboard that depicted some Biblical story, Egyptian cotton sheets, and silk pillows. The bedroom’s walls and ceilings would be made of marble and there would be a huge window that opened to the balcony, always open to let a breeze in. Eduardo would wear a maroon robe that went just passed his knees and walk out to his balcony barefoot, watching the sunrise with a china tea cup full of espresso.

He pounded out the rest of the header code, checking and saving it, and jumped up to get another beer. He liked to imagine beer killed the unwanted brain cells but was starting to think beer was betraying him, too.

Eduardo texted Chris at ten the next day, asking if they all wanted to go to lunch. Mark rolled his eyes at that. Only Eduardo would consider ten o’clock lunch time, not even trying to claim it as a late breakfast time but simply moving on to lunch. Typical Eduardo, Mark thought.

***

They met up at the Kirkland dining hall at 10:30 and Eduardo came wearing a scarf. As nice and masculine as the scarf was and as perfect as it looked on Eduardo while he ate his Honey Bunches of Oats, Mark wanted to compliment him, then apologize and strangle him. He wasn’t fooled and neither were the other two.

“Nice scarf,” Dustin said quietly, hungover and chewing on a piece of toast messily, “but your hickey’s still showing.”

Eduardo blushed and readjusted the scarf, pulling it more over one side to finally conceal the purple bruise. Mark’s fingers twitched around his bottle of orange juice and he told himself it was from lack of typing, not anger. Definitely not anger.

Eduardo slurped when some milk dripped over his bottom lip and Chris asked, “How was your night, then? I mean, we can guess, but.”

Eduardo shook his head quickly, licking his lips until all the milk was gone, and Mark hated that he, Eduardo, wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. How could he not know what he was doing?

Eduardo pushed his cereal around the plastic bowl. “It was pretty fun.”

Of course, Mark thought, because you were riding the singer of some band on a nasty couch until eight in the morning like a coked-out groupie. 

“We really just talked all night.”

Dustin snorted, crumbs flying everywhere from his plate. Chris frowned at him and Mark smirked.

Eduardo sighed loudly. “Yeah, we clearly…but we did mostly talk. Took a walk around campus, I showed him a few things–”

“I’m sure you did”" Mark mumbled and Eduardo slammed his spoon on the table, causing the sleep-deprived man to jump higher than he probably should have.

Eduardo glared at Mark, who helplessly and blankly looked back. Eduardo figured that, last night, Mark was pissy for being dragged out of his room and he could understand that. He was Mark’s best friend, he knew that Mark liked being confined in there. He was okay with that. What he wasn’t okay with was Mark’s behavior towards Gabe, who was basically a stranger and did nothing to deserve such treatment.

Now, even the next day, Mark was still being a little bitch and Eduardo could still be understanding, he could, but he didn’t want to be.

Eduardo stood up, his chair scraping across the floor in a volume that only seemed loud due to the quietness of the dining room and making Dustin cringe a little.

Eyes still on Mark, Eduardo said, “He’s in town for one more night and he wants to take us out for dinner, get to know you all,” he said the last two words sharply, “and sort of have a somewhat college experience.”

Chris nodded. “Of course.”

Dustin groaned, rubbing his forehead, “If I’m not dead.”

Mark bit his bottom lip and Eduardo said, “You can come, too, Mark, on the condition you get that stick out of your ass and bring your maturity back up from age twelve.”

With that Eduardo turned and walked away.

“You know,” Chris said as he piled Eduardo’s leftover trash onto his now-empty plate, “you can at least pretend to be happy for Eduardo this one time, the way he genuinely is happy for you about ten times a day.”

Chris was exaggerating. Eduardo didn’t see Mark ten times a day so there was no way that he could be happy for him that many times. Was there?

***

Chris, Dustin, and Mark walked into John Harvard’s, a restaurant and bar just three blocks from Kirkland, and saw Gabe and Eduardo sitting across from each other at a table. Chris pointed to them for the hostess, who led them over. Menus were already in place at the three open seats.

Dustin shotgunned the one next to Gabe on the walk over, which left the two by Eduardo. Mark was walking in the middle, behind an overly excited Dustin and in front of Chris, so he figured he’d take the seat next to Eduardo, but when Eduardo looked up at them all with a smile that slightly weakened at the sight of Mark, he took the further seat.

“Happy you guys could make it,” Gabe said, shaking each of their hands, even Mark’s dry, cold one.

Mark noticed the two almost-empty tall glasses of beer. Thoughts flickered to Gabe spiking Eduardo’s drink with a date rape drug and he had to clear his throat to cover the snort that wanted to come out. The thought itself wasn’t funny but imagining Gabe doing it right in front of Eduardo and him still drinking it was. Eduardo would either ask stupidly what it was or assume it was some vitamin D powder.

No, Mark wasn’t at all bitter.

“Get whatever you want, ’s on me.”

Eduardo smiled affectionately, saying, “We really appreciate it.”

Chris nodded his agreement enthusiastically as he opened the menu. “Trust me, the school’s food is probably equivalent to prison food despite how much money we pay them.”

“Which is why we’re poor college students,” Dustin added, exhaling dramatically. “Typical broke Ivy League students. Be lucky you didn’t get a college experience because it tastes awful nasty and leaves you penniless.”

Gabe laughed and Eduardo smiled more, everything running smoothly so far and grateful Mark had been more cordial this time. He didn’t know if maybe Chris had talked to him (not really) or if he had just jumped off his high horse (not really) but he didn’t mind it. He was happy.

They all ordered different brews and Mark considered getting the sirloin steak, make Gabe literally pay, but went against it after thinking about how Eduardo would know he did it on purpose (he didn’t eat steak) and become disappointed in him all over again.

He ordered the garden burger.

*

After they finished eating, Gabe ordered them more beers and they talked. Gabe was interested in their school lives and kept asking about what it was like to be at Harvard, thee Harvard. They, of course, wanted to know all about Gabe’s life touring and being part of a successful (Mark kept his poker face when Dustin said this) band.

A couple hours passed and Gabe moved his chair over to the head of the table so he was sitting closer to Eduardo, their hands connected under the table. Dustin sighed dreamily and Mark drank his beer faster before waving the waitress down for another.

Chris stood unsteadily and picked up his jacket from the back of the chair, announcing, “I should probably go. Some of us have 8 AM classes that we actually show up to.” He nudged Mark’s shoulder at the last statement, smiling, before putting the jacket on.

Gabe stood up, too. “Hey, want us to walk you back?”

“Nah, it’s seriously like,” he pointed out in a random direction, “like, right there. I’ll be fine, but thanks.”

Gabe sat back down, Eduardo grinning at him like he was some terrific person for offering to walk someone home and making Mark want to just throw a beer in Gabe’s face. “Hey Mark.” Mark shifted his eyes from Eduardo to Gabe, who was looking at him and leaning against the table a little. “You’re awfully quiet.”

Mark grabbed his glass, unsure of what else to do with his hands. “I’m always quiet.”

“You weren’t yesterday. When you expressed your opinions.”

Mark rose an eyebrow, realizing that Gabe was maybe calling him out or something. Over dinner, he was on his best behavior and listened when Gabe told stupid stories about living on a bus and recording in a studio. He didn’t say out loud the snide commentary he was thinking with each word Gabe said. He smiled, fake, when everyone laughed and put in side remarks when Chris, Dustin, or Eduardo told a story.

He deserved a sticker for how well he contained himself.

“Well, I guess I have no opinions today,” he countered, raising the glass to his lips and looking around the restaurant as he drank.

Dustin said to Gabe, “Mark’s a coder. He’s in the process of making a social website, kind of like MySpace.”

“It’s nothing like MySpace,” Mark defended as he wrinkled his nose. “MySpace is cluttered and stupid.”

“I said kind of to put it in perspective for Gabe.”

“It’s nothing like MySpace,” he reiterated, Eduardo and Gabe sharing a look.

Mark remembers when he and Eduardo used to share looks.

Gabe said, “So, you make websites.”

“In my free time.”

Eduardo added, “And by free time, he means he’ll skip sleep and class for three days straight.”

“Only fluff classes– philosophy, 18th century British literature. They’re inadequate.”

Gabe took a drink and nodded along. “Why do you make them?”

“Why do I what?”

“Make them. Why?”

Mark glanced at Eduardo, who rubbed his lips together nervously, before looking at Dustin, who was tipsy and leaning back in his chair a little but watching Mark closely. He had never been asked that question before but it was mostly because his friends already knew the answer.

“It’s.” Mark inhaled slowly and cleared his throat, taking another drink. “It’s, uh. You’re a musician.”

As he said this, he wanted to punch himself for one, calling Gabe such a thing and two, remembering the stupid, stupid term of “dance enforcer.”

“You’re a musician and…you express yourself through music. You understand how to make a song to get a message across. I express myself through, you know…coding.”

Eduardo smiled proudly at Mark’s explanation. “He’s very good at it, too. I don’t approve of some of the habits he’s formed and some of the sacrifices he’s made to develop this one, but it’s his and if he thinks it’s worth it, so do I.”

*

Eduardo and Mark shared a look and Mark smiled on the inside, knowing Eduardo possibly forgave him fully this time, all from that one sentence he delivered to Gabe. Okay, maybe Mark’s first judgment about Gabe was wrong, he wasn’t a bad guy and was genuine, but he couldn’t be blamed for wanting to look out for Eduardo. Eduardo had been looking out for him since the third day after they met (he wasn’t aware of the bad habits until day three) and Mark wanted to look out for him this once in return, though he may have went about it the wrong way.

Not that he’d ever, ever admit it.

Dustin hiccupped, wiped his mouth, and said, “Screw this. Gabe, mind buying us shots?”

An hour later, they were all laughing hard, even Mark, though his laugh was less enthusiastic, at a story Gabe was telling, gesturing wildly with his hands. Mark realized that Gabe had potential to be a great forensic coach, maybe teaching acting or nonverbal communication. It seemed a lot classier than dance enforcer.

“So then, Pete comes barging, and I mean barging with the whole door slamming hard against the wall and charging into the room head first, and he screams, I’m not even kidding, he screams, ‘Who the fuck shredded the contracts?’ and Ryan says, ‘I don’t know, who’s demon dog shredded my rosevest?’ and they, I’m not even exaggerating one bit, guys, I swear, and they get in a full-out brawl.”

Dustin laughs hard, pounding his hand against the table, and Eduardo throws his head back, laughing into the air with his eyes shut. Mark chuckles because he doesn’t know the people Gabe’s talking about so the comedic effect is less for him but, if he’s being honest, the story itself is still funny on its own regardless.

Gabe was a pretty good story teller, minus the run-on sentences.

“Ah, yeah, my friends,” Gabe chuckles, sipping on his beer, since he declined the shots and insisted, for the sake of everyone else, he’d stick with beer.

Eduardo leaned over towards Gabe, Dustin looking around for the waitress for more shots because, hell, he wasn’t paying, and kissed his cheek quickly, whispering, “Thank you for taking us out.”

Mark saw Gabe’s hand let Eduardo’s go to rest on his knee instead, all good feelings about him gone again.

Gabe kissed Eduardo softly. “Thank you for letting me. I haven’t met good people in a long time and I appreciate you giving up your time to spend with me.”

Dustin noticed how close Gabe and Eduardo got and turned to Mark, giving up on his hunt for tequila shooters. “Want to get back?”

Mark figured it was probably a good idea, before he barfed from how disgusting Gabe was or did said something that Eduardo would consider inappropriate and get mad at him. Mark hated when Eduardo was mad at him, hated that even more than he hated seeing Gabe put a hand on Eduardo’s cheek.

Mark answered, “Yeah. Yeah, probably.”

Eduardo snapped his head away from Gabe and to Mark, eyebrows creased. “You’re leaving?”

“It’s getting late and, you know, his last night. You guys should…whatever,” Dustin giggled, winking at Gabe, who smiled slowly and shook his head in amusement.

Eduardo bit his bottom lip, unreadable eyes still on Mark, who stared blankly back at him. “You, too?”

Mark lifted his shoulders, Dustin already on his feet and swaying from side to side as he put his jacket on. “Have to make sure he doesn’t get hit by a car on the way back.”

Dustin slurred flatly, “Fuck you.”

Eduardo kept staring at Mark and Mark was trying his best to read the message, if any, he was trying to send. Eduardo was pretty good about that sort of thing, being able to show through facial expressions what he couldn’t say out loud, except for now, of course.

Dustin grabbed the back of the chair to steady himself and Mark tapped his fingers worriedly against the table. “Um. Gabe, did Eduardo show you the residence halls yet?”

Gabe tilted his head to the side, shaking his head and looking at Eduardo. “He said I could stay over at his tonight, so, I mean, I will. I just haven’t yet.”

Mark clicked his tongue. “Do you…want to come check out ours first? Maybe have one more drink and play a round Mario Kart.”

Eduardo’s expression finally showed something Mark could read: relief. As happy as Mark was that he figured it out, he was concerned as to why Eduardo would feel that way. He had spent time alone with Gabe all the previous night and most of that day, so why was he now not as confident?

***

Chris woke up when they came in, not angry but surprised that Gabe Saporta was in their dorm room. What the hell, was it normal for famous musicians to just hang out on Ivy League campuses? He wasn’t complaining because this sort of thing would never happen to him again but…really, what the hell?

Gabe, Eduardo, and Mark squeezed on the couch, Gabe bending forward to concentrate on the screen and Peach (“She’s a babe, though, when she isn’t a cunning slut.”), Eduardo leaning his body from side to side when he made turns, and Mark resting back, still except for his thumbs and fingers. Chris sat in the chair beside them, arms on his knees as he leaned forward to watch his Luigi closer, and Dustin lied on the floor, without a controller but with a beer as he talked to Gabe about economics.

“It’s a pretty cool major, if majors can be cool. Like…like art is cool and-and when people say ‘I’m an English lit major,’ it sounds so smart–”

“No it doesn’t, Dusty,” Mark mumbled, Eduardo chuckling beside him.

“Yes it does. But, you know, so does ‘I’m an econ major.’ People think, like, you’re genius because you can handle both business and math. Like, you can have two majors at once. It’s cool, right?”

“Very cool.” Gabe crossed the finish line first, the animated Peach automatically making her way around the track again, and put the controller down on his lap. “That’s why I like Eduardo. He’s an econ major.”

Eduardo blushed, mumbling, “That’s a lie.”

Gabe ran his hand through Eduardo’s hair once before letting his fingers slide down to his neck and the hickey that was still there, whispering, “I got you good, didn’t I?”

“I tried getting you back but that wasn’t happening.”

Gabe chuckled and wrapped an arm around Eduardo’s shoulders as Eduardo finished second with Mario. He whispered more quietly in his ear, though it was still loud enough to be heard clearly by everyone else, “Can we go to your room?”

Mark glared at the screen. Not only did he hate losing in Mario Kart, hating it more when it was Gabe, but he hated that it had to be Peach and Mario. How fairytale. How cute. How coincidental and fateful and all things happy and gross. It made sense that Gabe chose Peach, though, because Mark hated her the most.

Eduardo nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, sure.”

Gabe stood up, Mark finishing the line just in front of Chris, who was a victim of his turtle shells, and patted Dustin on the shoulder before shaking Chris’ hand.

***

Mark nudged Eduardo gently, mumbling softly under Dustin’s loud thank you rant, “You okay?”

“Yeah, just. Just nervous. I’m scared he’ll expect something from me.” Eduardo looked over at Gabe quickly, who was hugging Dustin back with a laugh. “It’s strange. He’s normal and yet, I can’t help seeing him as a famous guy.”

“You don’t need to do anything you don’t want to. You know that.”

“Of course I do. But…what if it disappoints him?”

Mark rolled his eyes, which Eduardo didn’t appreciate, and said, “For one, I’m sure he’s gotten plenty of ass to last him a lifetime.”

“Thanks, Mark, really, that makes me–”

“And two, you won’t disappoint him. You’re company and conversation is more than enough for anyone to be able to cherish. You’re gorgeous and friendly and you gave him a tour. If that disappoints him, he doesn’t deserve anything you have to offer then. Anything.”

Eduardo gaped at Mark, eyes soft and lips parted. Mark had never said such kind things to him before, ever. He knew Mark wasn’t good when it came to talking about feelings and emotional problems, so hearing this from him was not only one of the biggest shocks of his life but it also made him feel better. For the first time ever, Mark made Eduardo feel better.

Mark kept his eyes on Eduardo, who said, “So…you’re okay with…?”

“Not at all. I disapprove of him and I’ll disapprove of every other person you’re interested in because no one in the world will be good enough.” Mark was going to kill Dustin for letting him drink shots because shots destroyed his ability to control his mouth. “But you like him, and he’s only here for one more night before leaving, so…I suppose I’m forced to support you…because that’s what friends do. Right?”

Gabe moved to the back of the couch, his goodbyes with Dustin and Chris finished, and put a hand on Eduardo shoulder, gently massaging it. "Ready?"

Eduardo gave a nod, in response not to Gabe’s question but Mark’s.

“It was fantastic meeting you, Mark, though it was a bit rocky at first, and thank you for inviting me over. This was really fun, I honestly wish I could do stuff like this all the time. You don’t know how lucky you have it.”

“No, I think I do.”

***

Chris ended up missing his morning class, surprised that Mark didn’t stay up all night again to repress his jealousy and not waking him up at 7:30, which he did every time he didn’t sleep. Mark said it was because he was looking out for Chris’ best interest; Chris knew Mark liked seeing him as a crabass when he woke up.

On the couch and under a blanket, Chris was eating an apple with the muted television on CNN when Eduardo came in.

It was 9:36 and Eduardo had class at 10 but he decided to stop by beforehand, though he wasn’t expecting to see only Chris awake and Mark’s door shut. Mark never shut his door.

He creased his eyebrows, pointing at Mark’s door as he walked over to it. “He asleep?”

Chris shrugged, biting into his apple and not bothering to wipe away the juice. “Didn’t check. How was your night?”

“Good, good. He left early this morning.”

Chris nodded and turned his attention back to the news, Eduardo opening the bedroom door slowly and walking in before shutting it behind him.

Mark was curled on top of his bed, still dressed in yesterday’s clothes and head just barely on the bottom of the pillow. Eduardo encouraged Mark to sleep and now that he was, Eduardo would be waking him. He felt bad and somewhat hypocritical but he had to do it, for himself. Mark could sleep all day afterwards.

Eduardo sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his fingers down Mark’s cheek. He stroked a couple times and Mark slowly woke up, groaning. Mark wanted to push away whatever was on his face but he felt too weak, instead opening his eyes to see what it was and not expecting Eduardo.

“Shit, hi,” Mark mumbled, closing his eyes again.

“Morning.”

Eduardo kept his fingers moving and Mark no longer minded.

Mark asked, “How’d it go?”

Eduardo lifted a shoulder. “Fine.”

Mark cracked an eye open to examine Eduardo’s neck. The hickey was badly covered with make up. “No new marks.”

“Nope,” then more quietly, confirming, “Nowhere.” Eduardo moved his hand to go through Mark’s hair. “I want to thank you for last night and…for looking out for me. I don’t like how you talked to him at first but I know that’s your way of protecting me. So. Thanks.”

“You’re my best friend, Wardo, and I have expectations for you. Rock band singer doesn’t cut it.”

Eduardo laughed, thinking about how Gabe having a well-paid, steady job in the public eye wasn’t enough for Mark. He knew now, though, that no one would be enough and that made him feel cared about.

Eduardo leaned down to kiss Mark’s forehead, fingers gently scratching his head. “I love you, Mark.”

Mark’s heart pounded harder, mumbling, “Love you, too.”

“I have class, so,” Eduardo kissed his forehead again and stood up, “go back to sleep. I’ll come by later.”

Mark’s jealously over Gabe instantly vanished because he knew Eduardo never said those words to Gabe. Also because Eduardo didn’t run off with Gabe to tour the world and live the life of a rockstar’s girlfriend, not that Mark thought it would happen.

Mostly it was the love thing, though.

**Author's Note:**

> <https://tsn-kinkmeme.livejournal.com/10450.html?thread=19125202#t19125202>
> 
> **thank you for reading! kudo, bookmark, comment, and subscribe :)**


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